There are approximately 316 million people in the United States of America that have been ordered to stay at home to help prevent the further spread of COVID-19. 


COVID-19 and the Energy Sector

A non-essential worker who is stuck at home will be consuming more electricity than they usually do. This makes the energy sector one of the unshaken industries amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, there are regulated electric utilities and big scale projects that contract with the industry, says an article.

However, the energy efficiency sector is showing different news. This sector has been reported to have demonstrated significant layoffs since the beginning of the pandemic.

The impact of the pandemic will be more severe for smaller programs that are diversifying the workforce of the energy efficiency sector through low-income communities, people of color, and job training programs for youth.

Some researchers have witnessed that the health outcomes of COVID-19 are irregularly worse for black and Latino communities. Additionally, the adverse effects of the pandemic to the economy are seen to be more extreme for those in the energy sector that disproportionately hire black and Latino workers and serve low-income communities.


Current Pandemic Postpones Residential Energy Efficiency Work

The energy efficiency sector is the biggest employer in the energy sector. It employs a minimum of 2.4 million workers and has a ratio of 1:3 workers in the energy sector.

Some workers may be tasked to manufacture more efficient components. Also, they may be tasked to visit homes and businesses to determine and install options to reduce energy usage.

More often, it requires workers to enter the homes of customers. They get to converse with various types of people, from homeowners to entrepreneurs about energy efficiency. This means that the workers need to have close contact with customers.

Currently, the sector is trying to figure out how they can lessen contact with customers. As of the moment, the industry is still closed, especially for home service work.

There are more than 69,000 energy efficiency workers in the country who lost their jobs in March.


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Diversifying the Workforce in the Energy Efficiency Sector

The male and white workforce dominates the energy efficiency sector. Only 25 percent of the workforce in the industry are females. This is a small percentage as the percentage of women in the workforce of the country is 47 percent.

Eight percent of the workforce in this sector is Black. However, the national rate of Black people in the workforce is 12 percent.

Lastly, 15 percent of the total workforce in the energy efficiency sector is Latino. This is six percent lower than the national workforce.


Lowering Bills to Create Jobs

Some programs also center their energy efficiency services to underserved communities. Losing these programs makes it more difficult for these families due to their increased use of energy and rising utility bills.

Research suggests that families of color encounter a huge energy burden compared to White families. A reduction in utility bills through the use of energy efficiency service gives significant benefits to low-income families.

This is applicable now due to the increasing rate of unemployment and the need to keep people inside their homes to prevent the spread of COVID-19.